West Palm Beach police are investigating after a Lyft driver who was transporting a passenger from Pompano Beach to Jacksonville had his drive cut short — by a carjacking.
According to an affidavit, on March 4, officers received a call about a carjacking at a Marathon gas station in West Palm Beach. A Lyft driver, Miguel Molina, 52, had picked up passenger Declan Patrick Murphy, 35, who requested a ride to Jacksonville from Broward County.
Molina stopped at the gas station due to the length of the trip, and had also contacted his stepson, Raymond Pagan, 26, to accompany him.
When Molina returned from paying inside, he saw Murphy had moved from the backseat of his 2017 Honda CR-V to the driver's seat, and fled in Molina's car. Molina tried to stop him, but was not successful, and he told police Murphy tried to run him over.
With Pagan at the gas station, Molina jumped in his car as the two attempted to follow Murphy while on the phone with 911. Murphy drove approximately 1.9 miles east before crashing into the rear of another vehicle at the intersection of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Tamarind Avenue.
He then fled on foot but Molina's stepson tackled him in the parking lot of Hook Fish & Chicken on Palm Beach Lakes.
Police arrested Murphy, who was charged with one count of grand theft (motor vehicle) with damage exceeding $1,000.
